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The problem, in my view, is that the shorthand in which McCain spoke about these matters made them comprehensible only to those of us who are already schooled in them. In almost every case, Obama answered McCain’s shorthand with longhand — with detailed, even long-winded answers that gave the distinct impression he was more in command of the details of these charges than the man who was trying to go after him on them.

That’s what I meant last night when I said McCain was talking in “code.” Over and over he’d respond to Obama with a brief staccato outburst — “health of the mother,” “statute of limitations,” “marketing assistance program,” “helping FARC,” etc. — that political junkies might have understood, but probably no one else. He sounded like a guy who had so many preplanned attacks lined up that he could barely spit all of them out in the allotted time. At times he almost seemed like he was gasping for air.

Overall, I don’t take too seriously the insta-polls that are released right after the debate. They show that Obama won, but a lot of that was just because Obama has high support levels right now, and you’re way more likely to think your guy won the debate than the other guy. Still, I think this was the worst of McCain’s debate performances. He might have pepped up the base a bit, but he didn’t help himself with anybody else.

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